Forgiving the Unforgivable

People have some fun with the fact that there are two very different translations of the numbers Matthew has Jesus use in his parable. Peter wants to know how many times he has to give someone who offends him and asks, “As many as Seven times?”

The phrase in the NIV is translated “seventy seven times,” but with an asterisk which says it can also be read as “seventy times seven.” Part of the reason for the discrepancy is the fact that Aramaic – and Aramaic is almost certainly the language Jesus spoke – has no punctuation. So, when Greek scribes wrote the Greek texts, even if they had contemporary texts to work with, they really would have had no way of knowing which number Jesus meant.

It’s true that there is a pretty bit difference between forgiving someone seven times and forgiving them 77 times. And forgiving someone 490 times seems downright impossible.

Regardless of the exact translation, what Jesus is talking about is unlimited forgiveness. This expression may be a deliberate reference to Lamech’s revengeful and bitter words in Gen 4:24: “If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” If that’s the case, Jesus is making a radical reversal from seventy-sevenfold vengeance to seventy-sevenfold forgiveness.

Peter’s question indicated that he still wanted to count how many times he should forgive. Jesus was in effect telling him not to count.

But this parable makes another important point that’s easy to miss. Just take a look at the amount of debt the King’s slave owes. The term10 thousand Talents is not one that means anything to us, so let’s put it terms of Dollars. We’re talking the equivalent of 10 MILLION dollars.

Not quite sure how a modern slave would come up owing his King ten million dollars, but in 1st century economics, there were many levels below the King, and even those at the highest level were still servants of the King. So it’s quite possible for there to be an individual a level below the King who would have vast powers over large numbers of people and substantial wealth.

In the story the servant has his debt forgiven and then turns around and shows absolutely no mercy to someone who owes a far smaller debt – about 100 day’s wages. Still a lot, but no 10 million dollars. He has that debtor thrown into jail.

The king then has the man he had previously forgiven tortured until all was repaid.

What stands out to me is this: we are eager to put limits on forgiveness. Can we forgive someone? Well, that depends! What is it we need to forgive them for? Ten million, dollars or a few thousand? A ten dollar debt maybe we can forgive.

But maybe we won’t even forgive that $10 debt. We might say, “It’s the principle of the thing. He owes me $10 and he needs to pay me.” They need to be punished. They need to learn their lesson.

I get it. Like Peter, we want to set limits on forgiveness. Maybe we could deal with forgiving someone seven times, but not 77 times and certainly not 490 times. We all have our limits.

How many times has God forgiven you? Don’t the people you have wronged have the same unlimited forgiveness from God? God doesn’t have limits and not only does God not want us to limit our forgiveness, according to Jesus, God commands that we offer unlimited forgiveness.

To be honest, we really have no choice. What is the opposite of forgiveness? Blame, retribution, payback, avarice, cruelty, revenge, retaliation, vengeance. That’s what Lemach was talking about. He wanted to be avenged.

We see the choice of not offering forgiveness being made every day, and it makes the world a dark and dreary place.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean you act as though no wrong was ever committed. It’s not that simple. You can’t simply recite a prayer of confession and then go back to acting the way you always have. Well, actually we can and we do it all the time, but that kind of confession doesn’t lead to any progress. No, you need to acknowledge what you have done wrong and take steps to change. Part of the process of forgiveness is the need to acknowledge the fact that there is something that needs to be forgiven. You can’t start the process of change until you have acknowledged that there is a need for change.

Which is one of the major sticking points about forgiveness. The ultimate goal of forgiving someone is to be able to reconcile your differences and transform the relationship into something positive for everyone. But there will never be any possibility of reconciliation until at least one of the parties is able to offer forgiveness, and for the other person to acknowledge and accept that forgiveness. It’s only a first step.

We often think of forgiveness as a one-way street. It never is. Most of the time broken relationships are not strictly the fault of just one person The other party may never be able to bring themselves admit they have anything to be forgiven for, or to forgive in return –- making true reconciliation impossible.

God faces the same dilemma with us. While God is eager to forgive and seek our transformation, we have to be willing to make the next step. We have to admit we need to be forgiven, and we have to be willing to be transformed and meet God on God’s terms.

God has already made the first step. We already have God’s Forgiveness.

We, on the other hand, carry a lot of baggage when it comes to being transformed. We resist change, even when we know it’s necessary. We think it will be painful, and often it is painful. True forgiveness and true transformation can be like going through heroin withdrawal or passing a kidney stone or labor pains. Maybe even doing all three at once.

When you read the papers about the horrible things human beings are capable of doing to each other, you become convinced that some things really are unforgivable. In a sermon a few years ago I told the story of a brave woman who barely survived the atrocities that occurred in Rawanda in 1994 that killed 70% of the Tutsi people. The Tutsi woman who was able to forgive the man who slaughtered her family during that nation’s genocide is an example of forgiveness beyond anything human beings are capable of. Even though she never excused what he did, with God’s help, she was able to bring herself to forgive that very broken man. Can you imagine how painful that was for her?

God forbid we should ever be asked to forgive something like that. I am certain it would be impossible without God’s direct intervention.

We need to remember, when we face the prospect of offering genuine unconditional forgiveness, God has already taken the first step. Unfortunately…but I really mean fortunately … God won’t be satisfied with mere forgiveness. God wants us to be reconciled not only with God’s Divine presence in our lives, but also with one another.

You will be asked … and you probably have already been asked…to forgive someone who has done something unforgivable. They didn’t just steal a day’s wages; they stole a million dollars. They didn’t just break a vase; they broke your heart. They didn’t just tell a little white lie; they betrayed you.

You will be convinced you cannot possibly ever forgive them, let alone be reconciled with them.

That’s when you call in reinforcements. You realize Christ forgave and healed the adulteress, the tax collector, the leper, the one who denied him three times, the thieves hanging on their separate crosses… and Christ forgave you.

Do you think that was easy for him to do? Do you realize that every time he forgave someone and healed someone he called upon the Father in prayer? The human Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Divine power of the Father make one powerful healer. Jesus says, “If two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”

If the debtor and the one he or she is indebted to can agree; if they can forgive one another’s debts: if they can forgive one another’s sins, they can be healed. They can be reconciled with on another.

Forgiveness is the path to God’s Kingdom; it is the path to healing the brokenness of human relationships. It is not an easy path, and attempting it without God’s help is virtually impossible. But I know in my heart that if God can forgive me, God can give me the strength to forgive as well.

We have already been blessed by the grace of the Father who offers us unconditional love and unmerited forgiveness. May we find the divine grace and strength to offer that same forgiveness to one another.

PRAYER:
Lord when I have done the unforgivable. FORGIVE ME LORD
Lord when someone has betrayed me and I see no path to forgiving them. FORGIVE ME LORD
Lord when I am too weak to do the right thing, and end up doing what I know is wrong. FORGIVE ME LORD
When someone offers me forgiveness I do not deserve. GIVE ME THE GRACE TO ACCEPT FORGIVENESS
When everyone tells me that to forgive is a sign of weakness. GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO FORGIVE ANYWAY.
LORD, through your grace, your forgiveness, your strength and your healing power, MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF YOUR PEACE. AMEN